Brush



p 1942- R. A. PONSELLE 2,295,687

BRUSH Fil ed Sept. 14, 1959 Crow: 19 4? ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 15,1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRUSH Robert A. Ponselle, New York, N.Y.

Application September 14, 1939, Serial No. 294,831

Claims.

This invention relates to brushes for use in floor machines, in whichthe brushes are rotated by power in a generally horizontal plane. Moreparticularly, the invention is concerned with a floor machine brushcontaining novel features of construction which facilitate its use andenable it to produce better results than similar prior brushes.

Brushes of the type referred to as heretofore commonly made comprise aback having tufts of bristles anchored in its lower surface and arrangedin circular rows. The back has a central opening to receive part of thedriving mechanism and around the opening on the upper surface of theback are driving elements to be engaged with similar elements of thedriving mechanism. holes are formed through the back so that cleaningfluid may be discharged upon the back from above and will flow throughthe small openings to the surface to be treated.

With the construction described, difiiculties are encountered in theapplication of the fluid to the surface, because the upper surface ofthe back of the brush is usually flat and the rapid rotation of thebrush during operation tends to throw the fluid discharged upon the backoutwardly and away from the axis of rotation. As a result, only a partof the fluid passes down through the back to the floor surface while theremainder is thrown free of the brush and upon surfaces where it is notdesired. Also, when the fluid contains soap, the action of the brushproduces suds which collect in the spaces Within and between the rows oftufts and may ultimately rise through the small holes in the brush backand clog the holes. Any suds which rise above the back of the brush arelikely to be thrown clear by centrifugal action and this is, of course,objectionable.

The brush of the present invention overcomes the diificulties abovementioned and is so constructed that the fluid discharged upon the backis properly distributed on the surface being treated and not thrownfree. Also, suds formed at the center of the Working face of the brushand between the rows of bristles are discharged at the periphery of thatface. To attain these results, the back of the brush is formed with anumber of small holes or passages and the upper surface of the back isof generally conical formation, so that fluid discharged upon the backmust move upwardly as it moves outwardly. With this arrangement, theeffect of the centrifugal force In addition, a large number of small'acting on the fluid is partly counteracted by gravity, and a gooddistribution of the fluid through the passages to the surface beingtreated is obtained. Along its periphery, the upper surface of the backis provided with an inwardly overhanging wall or dam, and a number ofthe small holes through the back lie close to and preferably on the lineof junction of the inner surface of the dam and the back. Any fluidthrown against the dam is prevented thereby from escaping outwardly, andthe centrifugal force acting on the fluid, together with gravity, causesthe fluid in contact with the inner surface of the dam to flow downthrough the adjacent holes. The bristle tufts in the new brush arearranged in rows to form a working face, and the rows are interrupted toform channels leading outwardly from near the center of the face Soapsuds formed by the action of the bristles are then withdrawn through thechannels by centrifugal action.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the new brush; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

One form of brush embodying the invention is illustrated in the drawingas comprising a back Ill, preferably formed of a suitable metal or alloyand of circular outline, the back being provided with a central hub llhaving a cap [2 through which is formed a central opening l3 for thereception of a portion of the driving mechanism. The cap is alsoprovided with a plurality of driving elements l4 disposed about theopening l3 and adapted to be engaged with similar elements of thedriving mechanism. Outwardly from the lower end of the hub, the uppersurface of the back rises with a considerable slope, as indicated at I5,and around the .outer edge of the sloping surface is an inwardlyoverhanging wall or dam I6. Beyond the lower end of the dam, the back isformed with a flange ll.

The bristles [8 are of any suitable bristle material and they arearranged in tufts anchored in openings formed in the lower surface ofthe back. The tufts are held in place in any desired manner and, in theconstruction shown, a small opening is formed in the back above eachtuft and a wire is passed through the opening and through the loop ofthe tuft to hold it in place in the usual manner. As illustrated, thetufts are arranged in four concentric rows with the innermost rowdefining a central space below the hub II. The rows have interruptionsso arranged as 'free.

to form channels l9 which lead from the central space within the rows tothe periphery of the working face of the brush, so that soap sudsdeveloped within the central space and between the rows may be thrownout through the chan nels and free of the bristles.

Arranged in rows between the rows of tufts are small openings orpassages through the back of the brush, and fluid discharged upon theback may flow through the openings to the surface being treated. Certainof the passages 20a lie close to and preferably on the line of junctionof the inner surface of the darn and the upper surface of the back.

When the brush is in operation, fluid is dis-- charged upon the back bya supply pipe "leading from a suitable tank on the floor machine proper.and, because of the rotation of thebrush, the fluid tends to be thrownoutwardly by centrifugal action. It will be noted, however, that theupper surface of the back of thcbrush has -a generally conical formationwith an upward outward slope so that the outwardly moving fluid mustmove upward in its travel to the dam.

Gravity thus tends tocounteract the centrifugal action and prevents atoorapid outward movementof the fluid. The latter is-thus retarded so thata good distribution through thepassages to the surface to be treated isobtained. If the 'rate of discharge of the fluid is such that some 5fluid reaches the outer edge of the top of the brush, it is kept frombeing thrown free by the dam and, since the passages a are formedthrough the back close to and preferably on the line of junction of theinner surface of the dam and'the back the fluid-passes out through thesepassages and does not overflow the dam. The

discharge of the fluid through the passages 253a is accelerated bycentrifugal action.

In prior brushes, various expedients, such as corrugations'on the uppersurface of the back, have been employed to retard the centrifugalmovement of the fluid over the back-and an upstanding peripheral flangehas'also been provided.

These prior constructions, however, have not been satisfactory becausethey are not effective to produce the desireddistribution of thefluid'and also the passages through the back have been spaced inwardlya-considerable-distance from the inner face .of the flange so that fluidcollects in the space between the outermost passages and the flange andultimately overflows and is thrown The brush of the invention, by reasonof the upwardly and outwardly sloping shape of the upper surface of theback, the dam with the overhang, and the proper distribution of passagesthrough -theback, avoids the difficulties of the prior constructions andis much more effective. Also, the arrangement of the tufts formingchannels in the working face prevents accumulation of soaps suds at thecenter of the brush and between the rows of bristles, and the suds,therefore, cannot clog the passages through the back or be thrown freefrom the top of the back.

I claim:

1. A rotary brush which comprises a back .hav-

ward slope from near the central area thereof toward the periphery,tufts of bristles anchored in the under surface of the back with certainof "the tufts lying beneath said sloping surface, a

plurality of passages leading through the back and having inlets in saidsloping surface and outlets in said under surface among the tufts, fluiddischarged upon the back flowing through the passages, and a darnextending upwardly from the upper surface ofthe back adjacent theperiphery thereof. 'I

'3. A rotary brush which comprises a back having an upper surface whichhas a generally upward slope from near the central area thereof towardthe periphery, tufts of bristles anchored in the under surface of theback with certain of the tufts lying beneath said sloping surface, aplurality of passages leading through the back and having inlets insaidsloping surface and outlets in said under surface among the tufts, fluiddischarged upon the back flowing through the passages, and an inwardlyoverhanging dam extending upwardly from the upper surface of the backadjacent the periphery thereof.

4. A rotary brush which comprises a backhaving an upper surface whichhas a generally upward slope from near the central area thereof towardthe periphery, tufts of bristles anchored in the under surface-of theback with certain of the tufts lying beneath said sloping surface, aplurality of passages leading through the back and having inlets in saidsloping surface and outlets insaid under surface among the tufts,

fluid discharged upon the backflowing through the passages, and a damextending upwardly from the upper surface of the back adjacent the peripher-y thereof, certain of said passages lying substantially on theline of junction of the inner surface of the dam and the upper surfaceof the back.

5. A rotary brush which comprises a back having an upper surface whichhas a generally upward slope from near the central area thereof towardthe periphery, tufts of bristles in concentric rows anchored in theunder surface .of the back beneath the sloping surface, the free ends ofthe bristles forminga working surface, a plurality of passages leadingthrough the back and having inlets in said sloping surface and outletsin said under surface between the rows of tufts, and a plurality ofchannels in said working surface leading from near the center thereof tothe periphery, said channels being devoid :of tufts and havingunobstructed outer ends.

ROBERT 'A. PONSELLE.

